You people think it's easy, but I pumped gas professionally at a full service Chevron back in the day. This was no grease monkey pit stop, we regularly served Hollywood stars and predatory producers. Most people I see nowadays do it all wrong, needlessly exposing themselves to harmful levels of that mutagenic toxic soup containing hundreds of volatile organic petroleum hydrocarbon compounds. And with Obozo care, we all pay for the idiots cancer treatments.

One thing I recall about the change from attendants pumping your gas (I'm not that old. I didn't have a driver's license then) to pumping your own gas and cleaning your own windshields is that it is faster and more efficient.

It's not rocket science. If you can't pump your own gas, you probably should not be driving a car.

The reaction of the people in Oregon is hilarious. I understand that something new may take some time to get used to, but they act like all life as they know it is being destroyed.

We have family in Oregon and I would often forget that we were NOT supposed to pump our own gas and then see the attendant rushing out to take charge. Ooops....Sorry....you take over while I watch you do what I can already do. If you/attendant want to be really helpful, how about clean my windshield and check the air in my tires? Nope. Just gas.

Because we are close to the Oregon border we often see people standing at the pump in our self serve stations looking confused. I had one young woman (about 30) look forlornly at me and say: "Can you help me? I'm from Oregon and I don't know how to do this???? I'm on my way to see my Grandma in Los Angeles. help....." So. I stopped getting ready to pump my own gas and gave her a tutorial on pumping and paying for the gas and also how to clean her windshield.

I lived in Oregon for 9 years. That was the era when pump your own gas became more common elsewhere, so the adjustment didn't seem too severe.

Oregon, of course, like most of the country is two states in one, the ultra-liberal cities, and the more conservative rural areas. I lived in both. The people who are whining about having to pump their own gas come from the small populous liberal enclaves that electorally dominate Oregon, Portlandia, of course, but also Salem, Eugene and Corvallis. The remainder of the state, rural Oregonians of all stripe, are probably used to hoisting 6 gallon cans of gas to fill their pickup trucks, ORVs, chainsaws, boats, snowmobiles and farm equipment, if their farms don't have their own gas pumps.

I suggested several times when I first got with my partner that she move to Oregon for just this reason. She claimed, at that time, in her mid 40s to never having filled her own tank with gasoline. I would show up, she would pick me up at the airport, and we would have to fill up at the first gas station we found, to get back to her place. Or, rather, I would get out, fill her tank, while the car continued to run, with the air conditioning running. Pointed out the sign on the pumps telling everyone to turn off their cars when pumping gas. She wasn't worried, so I (doing the actual filling) shouldn't worry either. I would ask who filled her tank while I was gone. Sometimes it was a wannabe boyfriend. Sometimes her son visiting from college across town. And, the backup, of course, was her ex-husband. Like a lot of things with her, it was because her father had told her that ladies didn't fill their own gas tanks. And then she would remind me that she wasn't a (Victoria Secrets) bra burning feminist. She reminded me of that only yesterday - though not for pumping gas, since she hasn't driven over a half tank of gas worth a year for better than half a decade now. Which reminds me, I need to get up and drive her for coffee.

Tim at large:The upper right one is funny because they would rather struggle with the hoses than just agree to switch places.

Agree to switch places? Either one could solve his own problem by just turning his car around.

There's a security-cam video I saw on YouTube of a woman who pulls her car up to a gas pump to find she's on the wrong side. So she gets back into her car, pulls around to the other side of the pump, gets out, and finds she's still on the wrong side. She does this several times before she finally figures out that she's got to turn her car around but not go over to the other side of the gas pumps. Now that's funny.

Howard said 1/5/18, 7:31 AM..."Most people I see nowadays do it all wrong, needlessly exposing themselves to harmful levels of that mutagenic toxic soup containing hundreds of volatile organic petroleum hydrocarbon compounds."

Cool story, bro... I guess you're the Steve Jobs of modern-day gas pumps but yours is one of those proverbial gross exaggerations. Sorry, but short of wearing a full hazmat suit, there are only so many ways one can operate a gas pump.Maybe 'needlessly exposing themselves to harmful levels of that mutagenic toxic soup containing hundreds of volatile organic petroleum hydrocarbon compounds' 8 hours a day for 5 days a week is a potential risk to 'professional' gas pumpers but I seriously doubt it's an issue for the average person who fills up well less than once a week (656 gallons a year divided by an average 15 gal gas tank)

I wish NJ would finally get with it. I've probably spent the equivalent of several man-hours per year waiting for some dude who doesn't speak English to come fill up my tank. Then add in the times they put in the wrong grade. And the dent in the side of my car from when he dropped the nozzle. And the court appearance ...

When it comes to governance, there isn't much to recommend life in New Jersey. But on a cold day, with sleet blowing sideways ibefore howling Nor'easter, I am grateful that I can sit in my warm car and have my tank filled for me. It is a delightful luxury, even if my libertarian heart knows that it is just another government boondoggle. And here is the thing, gas in NJ has still been the cheapest in the region. I get it. It isn't necessary. But I find it something that makes living in such a poorly managed state redeemable.

But on a cold day, with sleet blowing sideways ibefore howling Nor’easter, I am grateful that I can sit in my warm car and have my tank filled for me.

What about on a cold day, with sleet blowing sideways, and you are running low on gas, looking for a place off of the interstate to get gas and the gas stations are all closed because, well, you know, they can’t be run by a single person, as in most states, and it’s late?

Yeah, the photos are staged yet still hilarious. Oregon driving skills and gas-pumping rules have been a staple of SW Washington State humor for a long time. Well, I should say Portland skills and rules as Eastern Oregonians are a very different people.

policraticus:When it comes to governance, there isn't much to recommend life in New Jersey. But on a cold day, with sleet blowing sideways ibefore howling Nor'easter, I am grateful that I can sit in my warm car and have my tank filled for me.

Lived in Eugene from 72 till 78 and remember pumping my own gas in some places. Believe it or not, some parts of rural Oregon are so poor that gas pumping jobs might be desireable for some people. Back then the top speed limit was 55mph. Once I got a speeding ticket for going 56mph on a state highway;called It an eco ticket.

Here in MA they repealed the ban on having a clip on the nozzle handle that allowed one to fill the tank without having to maintain pressure squeezing the handle. Makes for a more comfortable experience in the extreme weather. Though I had mastered the technique of wedging the gas cap in in such a way that accomplished the same thing.

This can be a real money maker for the gas station. In grad school back in the 70s one of my fellow students did a study on gas stations. He found that they made a large amount of money on oil and that a high percentage of cars were low enough to take a quart.

They would also suggest a quick oil and filter change which also had high markup and profit. Most declined but if just 1 in 20 bites, it is not a bad business.

Also checked and sold other fluids.

Having someone pop the hood and check the oil turned out to be a real money maker. Even more profitable than pumping gas.

Self pumping used to be rare all over the US until perhaps the late 70s.

I wonder if there are any stations that will continue to offer full service at a higher price?

People who can't figure it out can pay someone to pump the gas for them.

We still have a few stations that offer "Full Service" pumps. Usually just 1-2. Price is usually 4-5c/liter (12-18c/gallon) higher but they will also check oil etc. They also used to charge full service price for credit cards but that seems to have mostly fallen by the way.

Unknown, you could also use the little lever under the handle. It fits into one of three detents on the bottom side of the handle. I pumped gas in the early 60s, and these things were on the pumps then. The three detents control the speed. Due to the way gas tanks and filler tubes are made, some cars can't be filled on the fastest setting as the pump keeps shutting off prematurely.

The Oregon Self Serve rule only applies to the rural counties in eastern Oregon. Half of these counties have less than 2 people per square mile and the others have less than 10 people per square mile. The new law is more of a reflection of the reality of that part of the state. Frequently the station owner wasn't there so you'd pump it yourself and put the cash on his counter with a note.

The rest of the state including all the urban areas still can not pump their own gas.

There isn't a gas station as nice as those in the photos in eastern Oregon so I doubt those are real Oregonians pumping gas.

I'm a 47 year native Oregonian and I love pumping my own gas when I'm out of the state. If makes me feel like an outlaw.

Darkisland, I learned from my job pumping gas to never trust someone else checking the oil level. The station owner had a neat trick for not putting the dipstick in all the way, thus showing a quart low. Since overfilling is not a good thing, he also had an empty oil can that he would push the metal pour spout into and pretend to add a quart. Those old pumps had the dial that rolled over. He told us to never fill to the requested amount, but to stop 1/2 cent short. Unless the customer asked for a fill up. Then it was keep adding gas until the filler pipe started to fill.

Finding the gas fill on some of the old cars is as adventure in itself. Under the license plate wasn't too bad. The 57 Chevy Bel Air had the fill behind the tailight assembly on the driver's side.

There's gas station just outside Milwaukee where the owner pumps gas for you without extra charges. You can sit in the car and be warm and I love it. Or I love the idea as I go out of my way to drive there. But when I arrive I get out of the car by habit and talk to him. He's seventy-something and very interesting. You get a full tank every time but that's good for the car. Also he arranges all my car repairs when he hears about trouble but his staff is very skilled. And busy.

@ Aaron The Oregon Self Serve rule only applies to the rural counties in eastern Oregon. Half of these counties have less than 2 people per square mile and the others have less than 10 people per square mile

I live in North EASTERN California. Right near the Oregon/Nevada borders. The area where we are has about 6 people per square mile with a couple of little "towns" of about 600 people and one BIG town of 2500 people.

Many of the gas stations are not even stations but just places where you can pull in and buy gas or diesel. Cardlock fuel stations. There is never anyone there as there is nothing but pumps under a big canopy high enough for the logging trucks, hay trucks and other commercial vehicles. Or...just out in the open and you take your chances in the winter because no one plows the area.

You either use a credit card, atm debit card or a card from the company who owns the cardlock station. We have a card for the company and get a monthly bill for our various business trucks and equipment.

@James Smith: I wasn't clear, that lever you mention is the clip I was referring to that Massachusetts had banned from self-service gasoline pumps. They've repealed the ban so the lever/clip is now available at most pumps.

As we travelled through Oregon on our way to and from Seattle, my husband would only buy gas at the Indian reservation, where you pumped your own gas-- his small poke in the eye at the Soviet State of Oregon.

As we travelled through Oregon on our way to and from Seattle, my husband would only buy gas at the Indian reservation, where you pumped your own gas-- his small poke in the eye at the Soviet State of Oregon.

It's an interesting case of political economics. The gas station owner is better off because his expenses are lower. The consumer is better off, assuming the gas station owner passes along some of the savings in lower prices. The people making the pay-at-the-pump technology are better off, although at many gas stations in Oregon that technology is already in use. The gas pumper who gets laid off is worse off, and if he finds a new job, it's likely to pay less. If a new job were likely to pay more, he could have already taken that job and stopped pumping gas.

Blogger mockturtle said...As for Oregonians not knowing how to pump gas, don't believe it. It's not as though Oregonians never drive out of state.

Yes, I'm an Oregonian and I managed to figure out the gas pump the first time I went out of state, after dozens of tries and several serious injuries. I think all the interviews of people freaking out about having to pump their own gas are parodies. It's Margaret Mead interviewing the Samoans all over again.

yancey W.Sorry to be so late, but that happened a few years ago to a friend of a girl at our church. Was filling his tank, and something sparked. Static electricity or his phone or something electrical in his car. Went up like a Roman Candle and was killed. Tragic really, he was still in high school and had saved for years for the car.